


have i known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

by canadiancop



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anesthesia, F/F, Fluff, Soft Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 16:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21340918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadiancop/pseuds/canadiancop
Summary: “Who are you, pretty coffee lady?”“I’m Maggie. I’m your wife.”Alex’s eyes go wide. “You’re my — my what?” There’s a beat of silence before she turns to Kara and says, “Holy shit! Did you know about this?”orthe one where alex wakes up after surgery high on painkillers and doesn't remember her wife, but damn is she glad to meet her
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer
Comments: 33
Kudos: 352





	have i known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

**Author's Note:**

> i saw this video of a guy waking up from surgery and hitting on his wife because he doesn't remember marrying her and i was like 'wow. sanvers.' so now here we are! 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiviQfLyQX4

Maggie tells herself that she’s prepared for a lot of things when she walks into Alex’s recovery room. Kara told her that when Alex had tonsillitis in high school, she threatened to sic Superman on the doctors when they didn’t let her take her tonsils back home with her. Thankfully they didn’t believe that a sixteen-year-old girl had the man of steel on speed dial, Kara recounts, because that would’ve been awkward to explain to Clark.

The next time she had surgery was when she had her wisdom teeth removed in college, and Kara had a camera ready to film the experience. Maggie herself has seen that video – because every participant in game night has seen that video – and most of it was just Alex crying about how she’d never pass the MCAT now that they’d taken all the wisdom out of her head.

Now that this is her third time under the knife, Maggie has made sure to prepare for any and all reactions after Alex’s appendectomy. Kara begged to be in the room when Alex woke up, so now she and Maggie are sitting in the waiting room passing time until the doctor tells them that they can go see her.

Kara is just as sunny and upbeat as she always is, and even though Maggie pretends like she doesn’t care that Kara tagged along, she’s kind of glad not to be alone. She knows that this is a stupid easy surgery, that the possibility of anything happening is astronomically small, that even if it weren’t, Kara is a superhero and is no doubt tracking Alex’s heartbeat right now, but she’s nervous. Not that she’ll tell anyone, but she thinks Kara knows.

Kara knows that Maggie has seen a life without Alex Danvers, has seen life without the person that makes it worth living, and she isn’t interested in going back. So, even if she is a little more cautious, a little more unsettled than she might’ve been two years prior, Kara doesn’t mention it. She’s thankful. If Kara’s nervous, too, Maggie doesn’t mention that either.

When a kind looking nurse walks into the waiting room and makes eye contact with Maggie and Kara before walking over, Maggie can feel her heart squeeze uncomfortably in her chest. The nurse smiles kindly at them as if to let them know that it’s all okay, and she can practically hear Kara’s excitement next to her.

“You’re here for Alex Danvers?” he asks.

“Yup, that’s us!” replies Kara, lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet, clearly overflowing with excitement about what she’s about to witness.

“She’s waking up, if you’d like to see her.”

Maggie nods and follows the nurse as he leads them back to Alex’s room. Just before they reach the door, Kara stops.

“Wait, wait!” she says, pressing something on her phone before she angles the camera up, presumably so she can record what’s happening. “Okay, I’m ready.”

The nurse laughs a little awkwardly before opening the door. “Look who’s here to see you,” he says to Alex, who’s busy rubbing her face, her expression a mix of confusion and exhaustion.

Her eyes focus on Kara first, and she makes a small noise that sounds a little like a grunt of approval. Maggie wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Alex seems… normal? That is until she shifts her gaze down to Maggie and seemingly does a double take.

“Holy shit,” she says softly, with a puzzled look on her face.

Kara stifles a laugh and pans the camera towards Maggie, who pushes it away.

“Hi, Alex,” Maggie says, trying to make her voice as soft as comforting as possible. “How are you feeling?”

Alex just stares at her for a second before turning to Kara and stage-whispering, “Who’s this?”

Kara seems to be loving every moment of this interaction, because she doesn’t tell her. She just says, “I don’t know, Alex. Who do you think it is?”

Alex turns to Maggie again, seemingly taking in her appearance before shaking her head with a smile. “I don’t know.” Maggie thinks she’s going to ask her for her name, but then she takes a guess. “Are you a model?”

Kara lets loose a belly laugh and Maggie rolls her eyes. “Okay, we get it, Danvers. No need to make fun of me.”

Alex seems outraged at this. “What? Who would make fun of you?” She tries to push herself off the bed for a moment before her arms give out and she falls the quarter inch that she’d just risen. “Say the word and I’ll take them out.”

Kara whispers something to herself that sounds like _ I can’t believe this is happening_, but Maggie can’t be sure.

Maggie just shakes her head and takes a step closer to Alex’s hospital bed, reaching out her hand to touch her face. Alex doesn’t pull away, leaning into the touch.

“You’re really pretty,” she says dreamily, closing her eyes. “I can’t see you right now, but I still know you’re pretty.”

Maggie laughs. “Thanks.”

“You’re the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen,” she says, eyes still closed. “Is she the prettiest woman you’ve ever seen, too, Kara?”

“Oh definitely,” says Kara, still filming.

Alex doesn’t speak for a moment, smiling softly to herself, before she suddenly opens her eyes and sits up only to exclaim, “Fuck! Damn it!” and groan, quickly letting her head fall back on the pillow.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

Alex doesn’t answer for a few seconds, just groaning into her pillow. “I’m straight,” she whines, pouting. “But you’re so pretty and you smell like coffee. This isn’t fair.”

Maggie shakes her head. “You know you don’t have to be straight. Not if you don’t want to.”

Alex’s eyes are wide when she responds. “What? Really?”

“Really.”

Alex repositions herself on the bed so she can hold Maggie’s hand and turns to her sister, speaking much louder than is technically necessary. “Good news, Kara! I’m gay!”

Kara hums as if to say, “Oh really?” and Alex nods, turning back to Maggie. “Who are you, pretty coffee lady?”

“I’m Maggie. I’m your wife.”

Alex’s eyes go wide. “You’re my — my what?” There’s a beat of silence before she turns to Kara and says, “Holy shit! Did you know about this?” 

Kara nods.

Alex turns back to Maggie with a dazed smile. “You’re not joking, right?”

“Nope,” says Maggie, shaking her head.

“Good,” says Alex dreamily. “I hit the jackpot.” She stares up into Maggie’s eyes for a moment before she gasps, a blush spreading to her cheeks. “Wait… have we…?” She giggles awkwardly, looking around the room before she brings her attention back to Maggie. “Have we kissed?”

Maggie hears Kara’s approaching footsteps until she’s right next to her, the phone right by her face. “Yeah, Maggie. Have you kissed?”

Maggie just winks at Alex and smiles before turning to the camera. “Oh, yeah. We have _ definitely _ kissed. In fact,” she says, turning her head and leaning down so that her mouth is right by Alex’s cheek, “we’ve done even more than that. Do you want to hear about it?”

Alex just nods enthusiastically, and Kara looks a little regretful for having asked the question in the first place.

Maggie brings her lips to Alex’s ear and covers her mouth so that Kara can’t read her lips, even though she knows Kara could definitely hear her if she chose to. She obviously doesn’t want to, though, evident by the fact that she plugs one of her ears and starts singing her ABC’s.

The camera is still focused on Alex’s face, and her eyes grow wide as she hears what Maggie says to her. 

“No way,” says Alex, clearly unconvinced. 

“I don’t want to know!” Kara shouts in between letters. “_ Please _ stop talking!”

Alex pats Kara’s arm until she stops singing. “Kara, Kara, Kara,” she repeats, not relenting until Kara finally unplugs her ears and stops singing, even though it takes a good twenty seconds for her to give in.

She groans, finally accepting defeat. “What?”

“Did you know we had a wedding?”

Maggie can feel Kara’s sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s it? Thank God. Yeah, I knew that.”

“Maggie says that you ate four slices of cake before Mom caught you, and also that I went around telling everyone it was the happiest day of my life. Can you believe that? Wait, I just meant the part about me, because I absolutely believe you ate four pieces of cake.”

Kara chuckles at that before saying, “Yeah. I can believe it. You’re kind of perfect for each other.”

“That’s nice.” She pauses before remembering what she was going to say, and then continues on with, “Then can you also believe that we had sex in the bathroom after the ceremony?”

Kara shudders before yelling, “I just said I didn’t want to know!”

* * *

Not two hours after Alex wakes up, the trio are riding back home in Maggie’s car, Kara in the driver’s seat and Alex cuddled into Maggie’s side in the back.

Maggie can’t help the feeling of warmth that spreads through her when Alex hums into her neck, clearly content.

“Comfortable, Danvers?” she asks, grinning.

Alex just nuzzles her nose into her wife’s neck by way of answering. “I’m guessing you’re teasing me, but I really am very comfortable.” she says. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more relaxed than I do right now.”

“Yeah?” Maggie asks.

“Yeah,” she replies, and Maggie can hear the smile in her voice.

“Get a room!” comes a voice from the front seat, but Maggie can see Kara’s smiling face in the rearview mirror. She’s not doing a very good job at hiding her amusement.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, until Alex presses a kiss to the skin just above Maggie’s collarbone.

“What was that for?” Maggie asks.

Alex shrugs. “I’m happy.”

“What about?”

She doesn’t answer for a moment, perhaps thinking through her reply, before she says, “I don’t know. I just feel like this is where I’m meant to be. With you.”

Maggie just scoffs, trying to play it off, but she’s sure Kara can see the rising blush in her cheeks from the front seat, just like Alex can. “You’re a flirt when you’re drugged up, aren’t you?”

“Am I not always a flirt?” she asks, eyebrows turning up in confusion. “I’m not always like this?”

“Not always, no. Why?”

“I have to have a talk with sober me. I’m clearly not appreciative enough of my hot model wife.”

Maggie shakes her head and laughs. “I’m still not a model.”

“And I still don’t believe you.” She’s silent for a moment before she says, eyes closed, mostly to herself, “How did I get so lucky?”

Maggie presses a kiss to the crown of Alex’s head, smiling. “I’m the lucky one.”

By the time they get back to the apartment, Alex is resting her head on her wife’s chest and drawing meaningless shapes into her palm. Maggie knows that Kara is waiting on them to get out of the car so she can leave, but she doesn’t want to move yet, so she closes her eyes and breathes in the moment before it has to end. After a few seconds, she moves her other hand to tap Alex’s, and Alex looks up at her with the same sense of adoration in her eyes that Maggie saw at their wedding.

“Alex, honey, we have to go.”

Alex pouts. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Maggie can practically hear Kara roll her eyes, but Maggie isn’t fooled; she knows Kara is glad to have her here, no matter what she might pretend to feel.

“I’m not going anywhere,” says Maggie, taking Alex’s hand to help her out of the car. “We just have to go inside, someone’s waiting for us.”

Alex’s eyes widen at that. “Who?”

Maggie shrugs and leads her inside, and behind her she hears, “Kara, did I push a human being out of my vagina and not remember it?” followed by a barking laugh and then a_ woosh, _which means Kara has flown away.

They walk up to their apartment slowly, Maggie holding Alex’s hand because she’s worried that her wife might need it for stability, and Alex holding Maggie’s hand because she likes the way her stomach lurches when they touch. They get to the door in about a minute, and after a few seconds of Maggie fumbling with her keys, the lock on the door finally clicks open.

Alex inhales a huge gasp of air after seeing what’s lying on the couch.

“No way,” she says, almost tripping in her excitement to get across the room. “You didn’t tell me we had a dog!”

Maggie turns over to where a blonde mop of fur is sprawled over the sofa, tail rhythmically thumping on the cushions.

“Hi, baby!” Alex coos, hands reaching out to let the dog sniff her. “What’s your name?”

“That’s Gertrude,” Maggie says, standing a few steps back from where Alex is kneeling, her head resting just to the left of Gertrude’s.

Alex lets out a noise that sounds half like a scoff and half like she’s choking on her own laughter. “Gertrude?” she says, turning her head to meet Maggie’s eyes for a few seconds before turning back to the dog, scratching behind her ear. “Who would name you something so ridiculous?”

“No way. I’m telling sober you that you said that!” Maggie teases. “You’re the one who named her!”

Alex shakes her head. “I don't believe it. I have much better taste than that,” she explains before turning to the dog and saying, “sorry, Gerty.”

Maggie shakes her head. She’s not sure what’s bubbling up in her stomach – pride? amusement? love? – but she knows that Alex Danvers always brings out plenty of it. She would’ve thought she’d be used to being with Alex by now – to loving Alex, to being _ happy _ with Alex – but she’s not. Not yet. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be, really. Whatever this feeling is that Alex coaxes out of her, she hopes she has it forever.

She doesn’t realize that Alex has stopped petting Gertrude and is staring at her instead until she hears a sigh.

The first words out of Maggie’s mouth are, “Are you okay? Are you in pain?” but Alex just shakes her head. She probably should’ve known that nothing was wrong just by looking at the dopey look on her wife’s face, but she still feels relief flood through every vein in her body when she realizes nothing is wrong. Alex moves to stand up – a little shakily – and runs her thumb over Maggie’s cheek, smiling.

“Is this real?” she asks, and Maggie can’t help the blush that rises to her cheeks.

“Is what real?”

“You,” Alex says simply, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Are you real?”

“I think so. Are you?”

“I hope,” Alex says, the corners of her lips turning up into a smile. “But even if this isn’t real, I’m really enjoying this dream. I feel like I’ve been with you forever.”

“Is that just a nice way of saying you’re sick of me?” Maggie teases.

“Nope, you’re stuck with me.”

“How unfortunate,” she jokes. “You know, your doctor at the hospital said you’d probably want to sleep when we got home. Are you tired?”

“No,” declares Alex firmly, but changes her answer after pausing to reassess. “Well, maybe a little.”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

She smirks. “With you? Always.”

Maggie rolls her eyes and gives her wife a playful shove. “Keep it in your pants, Danvers. You know I was asking if you wanted to sleep.”

“I know,” she replies, keeping her eyes locked on Maggie’s.

It only takes a few seconds for Maggie’s expression of mock annoyance to crumble, leaving bright eyes and a beaming dimpled smile in its wake.

“You’re beautiful when you smile,” Alex declares.

“So you’ve said.”

“Yeah, well, it’s true.”

There’s a beat of silence before Maggie tucks a strand of hair behind Alex’s ear and says, “So are you, you know.”

“Really?” Alex asks, suddenly self-conscious.

Maggie just shakes her head in defeat, taking Alex’s hand in her own and slowly leading her to their bedroom. She helps a drowsy Alex into bed and under the covers, tucking her in with a kiss on her forehead before turning around to leave.

“Wait,” calls Alex, when Maggie reaches the light switch to turn the lamp off.

“Yeah?”

“Stay with me?” she asks, a pleading smile on her lips. 

How can she expect Maggie to say no to that?

“Okay,” is what she replies with, switching off the light and padding back to bed, slipping under the duvet right next to Alex. Within seconds, Alex is wrapping a leg around Maggie’s and pressing her nose into her wife’s collarbone, breathing in softly.

“Having fun there?”

“You’re so warm,” Alex says, eyes already closed.

“You know who’s even warmer?”

“Who?”

Maggie turns her head to whistle before softly calling, “Gertrude!”

They hear a shuffling from the other room before they hear the sound of a sixty-pound dog landing on the floor. Gertrude prances into the bedroom, collar jingling with each step, until she gracefully leaps up into bed, stepping over Maggie’s stomach on her way to lick her humans’ faces.

“Gertrude!” Alex laughs, gently trying to push her away, but Maggie can tell it’s half-hearted.

Gertrude keeps sniffing around their heads for a few more seconds, licking wherever she can find exposed skin, before sneezing and settling in between her humans at the foot of the bed.

“Better?” Maggie asks.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but yes.”

Alex shifts slightly in Maggie’s arms and breathes in deeply, closing her eyes in an attempt to sleep. Maggie closes her eyes, too, allowing the feeling of contentment wash over her like a warm rain. She lies there, Alex’s warm breath ghosting across the skin of her neck, listening to the sound of Gertrude snoring softly at their feet. When she’s almost sure that Alex is asleep, she turns her head to press a kiss to her wife’s forehead.

“I love you, Alex Danvers,” she whispers softly.

She can feel Alex smile into her skin.

“I love you, Maggie Sawyer.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! you can find me on twitter @homosectional and tumblr @maggiessawyer but i haven't been on tumblr in ages so do with that as you will


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